Here's some background on Ipoh:

Located 165k from Penang & 205k from Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh is the capital of Perak State & the commercial hub of the Kinta Valley. Interestingly, it was the Japanese who made Ipoh the capital of Perak during the WWII occupation.

The city, with a current population of about 600,000, grew from a small village founded along the Kinta River in the 1870s to become a city in May 1988. If you're curious about the city's name, it was named after the "epau" tree, a colossal jungle tree that was common in the area at one time. One can still be seen in front of the historic railway station.

This predominantly Chinese town (mostly Cantonese vs mostly Hokkien in Penang) is called the Bougainvillea City. And because it was once the richest tin mining region in the world, it is also known as the City that Tin Built. Tin mining started feverishly in 1890, a time of tremendous development for Ipoh. It became a prosperous town, built by miners & migrants, until the bottom fell out of the local mining industry in the 1980s due to a drop in the international price of tin. [The state's name Perak means silver in Malay, so the name was derived from the silvery tin ore that has made the state famous. ]

If you are going to visit Ipoh, get a copy of the excellent pamphlet City that Tin Built published by the Perak State Government. The Ipoh tourism office should also have some. It has a great map of the old town, & good background information & photos of the heritage buildings.